And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? 1 Kings 19:13.

The truth implied in God's dealing with Elijah is significant. God is not in the sensational and the loud. The gentle pressure of God is its own announcement and its mightiest power. The truth is so contrary to the shouting, the trumpet-blowing and loud advertising.

Nothing can reach our hearts but the "still small voice." It is well that we have less faith in noise and more faith in a quiet godly character; that our lives are more potent than our words. To be filled with the Spirit is not to be filled with religious riot.

We might remind ourselves that the power of the "still small voice" is greater than the indulgence of religious intoxication. "Thy gentleness hath made me great" (2 Sam. 22:36). In expressing our faith to others, the mightiest influence is love.

The quiet, persistent, undiscouraged power of the kindness and love of God should possess our hearts and minds. This is no easy optimism, no passing fancy that all is well. The "still small voice" is a sober, deep conviction by the Spirit that leads us into a life of peace, assurance, modesty, meekness, and patient endurance in the ways of the Lord.

Behind all the true accomplishments for God are spiritual forces that have taken possession of our lives. This is especially true of Christian character. Our great abilities are not the wisest part of us. The men of God have ever realized most clearly the direct action of the Holy Spirit upon their hearts. The voice of God has called them out of false paths into the way everlasting.

The heroic constancy of the glorious army of martyrs, the myriads of humble souls who have triumphed over adverse circumstances, shine like stars. The Spirit of the Lord changes us from glory to glory.

By the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, God draws near to us. He is not in the earthquake or some shattering excitement. He is not in the whirlwind of emotional frenzy or fanaticism, but in the sanity and serenity of the soul. The Holy Spirit resolves all our inner discords.